Death by Dissertation (Silver Dagger Mysteries) [Paperback]

Dean James (Author)

Book Description

Series: Silver Dagger Mysteries | Publication Date: May 1, 2004

For Andy Carpenter, graduate school is stressful enough without adding romantic complications and dead bodies to the mix. First, Andy has to contend with the presence of Rob Hayward, a new student in the history PhD program. He thought Rob was out of his life for good, but now he has to confront his unresolved feelings and not let his work suffer. When Andy discovers the body of fellow graduate student Charlie Harper in the university library, Rob looks like the chief suspect in the murder. Just what was the relationship between Rob and Charlie? Andy and his best friend, Maggie McLendon, agree that Rob isn't a murderer, and they decide the best way to exonerate him is to figure out who really killed Charlie. Who else might have had a motive for murder? When a second murder occurs, Andy, Maggie, and Rob must work quickly to find the killer before Rob ends up charged with two murders he didn't commit.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Graduate student Maggie McLendon, who had a starring role in James's Cruel as the Grave (2000), returns to play a secondary role in this uneven tale of academic skullduggery. Andy Carpenter's routine is totally disrupted when the Houston Ph.D. candidate (in medieval history) discovers sharp-tongued fellow grad student Charlie Harper lying on a couch in the university library with his head bashed in. The campus police, who have primary responsibility for investigating this crime and a subsequent murder, don't hold a candle to Andy, whose seemingly insatiable appetite for gossip leads him into a morass of sexual liaisons (mostly kinky or gay), plagiarism, blackmail and intellectual theft. If the supporting cast is largely one-dimensional and unengaging, the earnest, wry Andy makes an appealing narrator. And if the Nancy Drew-ish sleuthing doesn't mesh particularly well with the graduate-school setting, James keeps the killer's identity shrouded to the end as motives and opportunities apply to any number of suspects.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Dean James is the manager of Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas, one of the nation’s oldest and largest mystery bookstores.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 201 pages
• Publisher: Overmountain Press; 1St Edition edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570722676
• ISBN-13: 978-1570722677
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,595,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine gay academic mystery, June 30, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death By Dissertation (Hardcover)

Texas student Andy Carpenter believes that graduate school has to be the "lowest circle of Hell in the Inferno". Attending this hell is tough enough, but two months ago Rob Hayward became a history PHD candidate too. Andy has had a mixed relationship with Rob since they met in childhood and though he tries to ignore the handsome allure of this hunk, he fears his hormones disagree as the attraction remains strong.

Andy finds the corpse of Rob's roommate Charlie Harper in the university library. The police suspect Rob killed his fellow grad student out of a gay lover dispute. Andy knows that Rob is a slick charmer, but he would never commit murder. Deciding to help him, Andy recruits his best friend at school, Maggie McLendon (return engagement from CRUEL AS THE GRAVE) to investigate what happened to Charlie. A second homicide also points towards Rob with Andy realizing he could be on the short list of potential victims.

Though there is a slight adjustment needed to accept amateur sleuth Andy investigating the homicide, fans of gay or academic mysteries will appreciate this delightful who-done-it. The story line is action-packed, but uses the foibles of the intelligent, over-worked modern day indentured servant classified as a graduate student to provide comic relief. Readers will enjoy the exploits of Andy as he narrates his struggles with his mixed feelings towards the prime suspect, not realizing what he has fallen into with his inquiries. Dean James (apt name for an academic mystery writer) furbishes a fabulous tale due to Andy and his detective sidekick Maggie.

Harriet Klausner